Levi Marks vs. Hope Marks Divorce Petition Collection
Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/4/2025, 3:16:59 PM
Added description
Description
Levi Marks vs. Hope Marks Divorce Petition Collection (1798‑1799)
Overview
This is a digital collection of four scanned images and associated metadata that document the divorce petition filed by Levi Marks against his wife, Hope Marks, in Wallingford, Connecticut. The petition, dated December 18, 1798, alleges adultery and other marital misconduct and was submitted to the New Haven County Superior Court. The collection also includes the accompanying citation, summons, and court instructions, all rendered in English and preserved in the Connecticut State Library’s New Haven County Superior Court files.Background
The case is part of the New Haven County Superior Court (NHSC) records, specifically the Black, African American, and Indigenous History (BAAI) subset of the library’s New Haven County court project. The petition reflects the legal procedures of late‑18th‑century Connecticut, where a spouse could seek divorce through a formal petition to the Superior Court. The documents were digitized under the NHPRC grant to the Connecticut State Library, which aimed to arrange, describe, and make accessible court records involving African American and Native American individuals.Contents
- RG003NHSCBAAIPSDivorceMarksLeviHope001.jpg – The petition’s front page, showing the filing date, parties, and the court’s summons.
- RG003NHSCBAAIPSDivorceMarksLeviHope002.jpg – A page containing the petition’s heading and a brief citation.
- RG003NHSCBAAIPSDivorceMarksLeviHope003.jpg – The body of the petition, detailing the marriage, alleged adultery, and the petitioner’s grievances.
- RG003NHSCBAAIPSDivorceMarksLeviHope004.jpg – The court’s instructions to the constable and the formal summons to Hope Marks.
- Metadata (pinax.json) – Structured data describing the collection’s title, creator, date, subjects, places, and indexing terms.
- OCR text – Extracted from each image, providing searchable content of the petition and citation.
Scope
The collection covers the divorce petition filed on December 18, 1798, and the related documents issued in early 1799. It focuses on the parties Levi Marks (filed the petition) and Hope Marks (respondent), the alleged adultery, and the procedural steps required by the New Haven County Superior Court. Geographic coverage includes Wallingford, Haddam, and New Haven, Connecticut. The collection is limited to the petition, citation, summons, and associated metadata; it does not include subsequent court rulings, responses, or other unrelated case files.Entities
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Entity Relationships
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Raw Cheimarros Data
@file_pinax:file {filename: "pinax.json", type: "Metadata (PINAX)"}
@divorce_petition_collection:collection {title: "Levi Marks vs. Hope Marks Divorce Petition Collection", creator: @levi_marks, institution: @connecticut_state_library, created: @date_1798_12_18, language: "en", subjects: ["Divorce","Adultery","Legal Petitions","New Haven County Superior Court","Black, African American, and Indigenous History"], description: "Collection of documents related to the divorce petition filed by Levi Marks against Hope Marks in Wallingford, Connecticut, alleging adultery and other marital misconduct.", places: [@wallingford_connecticut, @new_haven_connecticut, @haddam_connecticut]}
@file_pinax -> documents -> @divorce_petition_collection
@levi_marks:person {full_name: "Levi Marks"}
@hope_marks:person {full_name: "Hope Marks"}
@connecticut:place {type: "state", country: @united_states}
@wallingford_connecticut:place {state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}
@new_haven_connecticut:place {state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}
@haddam_connecticut:place {state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}
@new_haven_county:place {state: @connecticut, country: @united_states}
@new_haven_county_superior_court:organization {type: "court", jurisdiction: @new_haven_county, location: @new_haven_connecticut}
@divorce_petition_document:document {type: "Petition", parties: [@levi_marks, @hope_marks], subject: "Divorce", allegations: "Adultery", date_filed: @date_1798_12_18, location_filed: @wallingford_connecticut}
@levi_marks -> filed -> @divorce_petition_document {when: @date_1798_12_18, where: @wallingford_connecticut}
@divorce_petition_document -> addressed to -> @new_haven_county_superior_court
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_markslevihope_001_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_MarksLeviHope_001.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_markslevihope_001_jpg -> depicts -> @divorce_petition_document
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_markslevihope_002_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_MarksLeviHope_002.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_markslevihope_002_jpg -> depicts -> @divorce_petition_document
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_markslevihope_003_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_MarksLeviHope_003.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_markslevihope_003_jpg -> depicts -> @divorce_petition_document
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_markslevihope_004_jpg:file {filename: "RG003_NHSC_BAAI_PS_Divorce_MarksLeviHope_004.jpg.ref.json", type: "Image/Asset with OCR"}
@file_rg003_nhsc_baai_ps_divorce_markslevihope_004_jpg -> depicts -> @divorce_petition_document
@nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject:concept {description: "Subject index field for New Haven County Superior Court files involving Black, African American, and Indigenous individuals"}
@divorce_petition_collection -> indexed by -> @nhsc_baai_cases_papers_subject Metadata
Files (4)
OCR Text
days before the said first Tuesday— Therof fail not but make due return and return—Dated in Wallingford this 18th day of Decemr. A 1798— State duty of one Dollar is paid herein— I am, Wodruff Just Peare Wallingford December 20th 1798 then I left above attested copy of this Petition & Citation with thee within named Hope Masters Attent Humberson Cook Constable of Wallingford. Feb 1st Feb 1 25
OCR Text
Levi Marks vs. Hope Marks 1799 Jan No app. 8c Petition
OCR Text
To the Honble Supr' Court to be holden at New Haven within and for the County of New Haven on the first Tuesday of January next. The Petition of Levi Marks of Wallingford in said County. Humbly Sheweth That on the 8th day of Octo. 1786 he was lawfully then married to Hope Broadwell of Haddam in the County of Middlesex and had then before him all the pleasing prospects of a happy life in his connection with said Hope—that he has ever conducted toward her in every respect as a tender, faithful, and affectionate husband—But your Petitioner, painful as the task is has to inform your Honors that the said Hope for want of every duty which she owed to your Petitioner as her husband & also of her most solemn Covenant of Marriage with him has frequently been guilty of the Crime of Adultery in the Course of Two years last past especially on or about the 16th day of July 1797—Your Petition is constrained further to State to your Honors that the said Hope has become so far abandoned to said Vice & so lost to every sense of decency and Shame that sometime in the month of April last she submitted herself to the gross familiarities and embraces of a Negro Man— Wherefore your Petitioner despairing of any reformation in the said Hope and expecting
OCR Text
nothing but mortification and painful sensations in a continuance with her humbly prays your Honors to take him up: happy safe into your wise consideration and to grant him a Bill of Divorce from her the said Hope thereby releasing him from the performance of any further duty or obligation to her as a Husband—Or in some other way Grant relief to your Petitioner as to your Honors in your wisdom Shall seem meet and as in duty bound Shall ever pray— Wallingford Decembt 18th 1798 Lewi Marks To either Constable of Wallingford in the County of New Haven— Greeting. By authority of the State of Connecticut you are hereby commanded to summon Hope Marks of said Wallingford to appear before the Honble Supt Court to be holden at New Haven within and for said County upon the first Tuesday of January next then & there to shew reason if any she have why the prayer of the foregoing Petition should not be granted and you are to leave a true attested copy of the said Petition & of this Citation with the said Hope or at her usual place of abode at least twelve
Version History (4 versions)
- ✓ v4 (current) · 12/4/2025, 3:16:59 PM
"Added description" - v3 · 12/4/2025, 2:39:38 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction" - v2 · 12/4/2025, 6:38:35 AM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata" - v1 · 12/4/2025, 6:29:06 AM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Divorce_Petition_LeviMarks_vs_HopeMarks"
Parent
No children (leaf entity)